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Beluga Calf 'Getting The Hang' Of Eating After Mom's Death

Although her mother died suddenly two days ago, a five-month-old beluga whale at Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium is showing encouraging signs, officials said.

The female calf, Kayavak, started eating fish Monday and seemed to be "getting the hang of it" during a feeding earlier today, aquarium spokeswoman Katie McGinley said.

"It was like teaching a kid to eat," she said.

Kayavak had been nursing until her 14-year-old mother, Immiayuk, mysteriously died Sunday. An initial necropsy -- an animal autopsy -- did not reveal the cause of death, and McGinley said it would be several weeks before anything is known.

Kayavak started playing with fish several weeks ago, a step that is part of the natural process for beluga whales between three and five months old, McGinley said. Trainers are confident that the calf will be on an all-fish diet relatively quickly.

Belugas usually go to an all-fish diet between 12 and 18 months old, McGinley said.

Kayavak remains in the veterinary pool where she and her mother were moved Sunday morning after trainers noticed Immiayuk was becoming lethargic and not eating. They had been in another pool with Mauyak, a pregnant beluga.

The calf now is swimming with Naya, an 11-year-old female whale to which she was introduced one month after she was born, McGinley said. Kayavak is interacting well with Naya and with trainers, she said.

McGinley said aquarium staff hope that Kayavak will learn from and mimic Naya -- and later, Mauyak -- when they are reintroduced.

After Kayavak was born Aug. 3, she spent almost 100 percent of her time with Immiayuk, but over time had become less dependent on her mother, in part because she was efficient at nursing and did not need to eat often, McGinley said.

Five beluga whales have died at the aquarium since 1989, when the beluga-breeding program began there.